Ideas for South California with family

asiufy · Dec 15, 2013

Hi,

I'm going to be with my family in South California, between Dec. 26 and Jan. 6. I'll be based in Santa Barbara for the most part, with some days in San Diego later.

Looking for "family stuff", and cool local tips. I was hoping to visit some wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley, but I'm at a loss of where to start.

We're 7 people (3 couples, plus one toddler), so I understand it's a bit hard to find something to do that'll please everybody, but I can try

Of course, shopping is in order, specially vinyl, so tips are more than welcome!

thanks,
alexandre

Steve Williams · Dec 15, 2013

Disneyland and Lego land

Come see me on your way to San Diego

asiufy · Dec 15, 2013

Ah, cool, thought about Disneyland, but forgot all about Legoland, thanks

As for stopping by, well, I was just waiting for the invite

alexandre

puroagave · Dec 15, 2013

I have two small boys and once at lego land was enough, I was there for the opening eons ago and the park is in a decline, imo.

if you're spending time in LA avoid downtown, its not like manhattan or a 'real' city not much to see/do there. You'll want to be in mid-cities like the Fairfax district/Melrose area and spend time at the farmers market and The Grove. wilshire blvd is your life line, stay on that street and it will take you west to Beverly hills and famed rodeo drive and exclusive boutiques. the weather is good in So Cal this time of year and santa monica/3rd street promenade is a hip place on weekend nights and worth a look with great restaurants and on most occasions street performers. if you want to see the freak show, Venice beach is just a mile so. down the coast, the boardwalk has been made famous in many films over the years.

the best area to find vinyl in LA is Los Felez and Silver lake - lots of new hip music shops including mike hobbs' store (of classic records fame). Hollywood is a hop skip and jump from there as is Universal City walk/universal studios. Griffith observatory is an awesome place to view the city from atop mount Hollywood.

San Diego's gas lamp district and harbor areas are recommended for sight seeing. if time is limited, id choose wild animal park over the famed SD zoo. Compared to Brazil we don't have same flora and fauna you do and will not likely impress. in that case skip the zoo as it will be a 'zoo' and kill the whole day.

feel free to PM me for other suggestions.

amirm · Dec 15, 2013

One of my favorite things to do in San Diego is to take the drive up to Mount Soledad. The drive up winds around insanely through nice neighborhood of homes and at times, with stunning shore views. Once on top, the view is expansive. It is a little known sightseeing place so you will be there almost by yourself. And since it is all done in the car, you don't have to worry about the little one not wanting to walk and such

.

I second Rob's recommendations and might add old town san diego. It is close to gas lamp district/harbor. It is fun to watch women make tortillas by hand.

Coronado Hotel and the drive to it are also nice.

The zoo definitely kills the whole day and can be very tiring. While it is one of the best zoos, it is still a zoo. The sister place that Rob mentions is wild animal park and you take a tram through it and then see some animals close by and you are done. One thing that the main zoo has however (or did when I was there years ago) was the dolphins/whales which the kids will like.

Another nice thing is the Balboa park if you are into plants. The covered arboretum was a delight as was a walk through the property.

A drive down A1A through Carlsbad/beach and such is also delightful.

Good luck. San Diego is one of the nicest places to visit this time of year.

Steve Williams · Dec 15, 2013

The beach at Hotel Del Coronado is beautiful

asiufy · Dec 15, 2013

Cool, thanks for the tips so far!

Any word on Santa Ynez wineries?

Also, would it be possible to go to the beach (either in Santa Barbara or San Diego)? Or is it not going to be hot enough? Not much experience with Pacific beaches...

Rob,

Got some vinyl store names for me?

Thanks guys,
alexandre

puroagave · Dec 15, 2013

what Steve said, Coronado often makes the best beach list for the entire US (but too cold to take a dip) and the hotel Del does an awesome sunday brunch. I lived in Sd twenty years and a number of years in La Jolla (aka, the California riviera), I always sent vistors to The cove (seal beach) the shores and down the coast to bird rock. there are lots of cool tide pools and sea caves that are fun to explore. the village of LJ is quant and has lots of upscale restaurants/shops. up on the bluffs is ucsd, the salk institute, birch aquarium and torrey pines glider port where you can try tandem parasailing, they actually winch launch full scale gliders for a few weeks in March - very cool to watch.

santa ynez is right by los olivos and solvang all three areas worth a look. if you enjoyed the flick "sideways" you can eat at the hitching post (los olivos) and see the bar where paul giamatti drowned his sorrows. Solvang is famous for its Danish village and Andersens pea soup restaurant. id skip the pea soup but the village is cool place to walk around, it will be cold up there this time of year and some snow is possible. i've been up to SB wine country twice for wine tasting and the wine festival, these were standouts: stoplman, sogno del fiore, sarloos and firestone. there are many more wineries but these are my faves. Ostini of the hitching post is known for his pinot noir, you can try it if you dine there. imo, the food isn't that great, they're best known for their steaks.

my record store list in my tablet at work, ill PM you the short list of stores I recommend you visit especially if time is precious, ameoba in Hollywood is a no brainer...

rrr · Dec 15, 2013

puroagave said:
I lived in Sd twenty years and a number of years in La Jolla (aka, the California riviera), I always sent vistors to The cove (seal beach) the shores and down the coast to bird rock. there are lots of cool tide pools and sea caves that are fun to explore. the village of LJ is quant and has lots of upscale restaurants/shops. up on the bluffs is ucsd, the salk institute, birch aquarium and torrey pines glider port where you can try tandem parasailing, they actually winch launch full scale gliders for a few weeks in March - very cool to watch.

I lived in La Jolla for several years and agree with all of the above. I would add that the Wild Animal Park is 30 minutes from both downtown San Diego and La Jolla and it's a great place for both adults and kids. Highly Recommended!

DaveyF · Dec 15, 2013

puroagave said:
what Steve said, Coronado often makes the best beach list for the entire US (but too cold to take a dip) and the hotel Del does an awesome sunday brunch. I lived in Sd twenty years and a number of years in La Jolla (aka, the California riviera), I always sent vistors to The cove (seal beach) the shores and down the coast to bird rock. there are lots of cool tide pools and sea caves that are fun to explore. the village of LJ is quant and has lots of upscale restaurants/shops. up on the bluffs is ucsd, the salk institute, birch aquarium and torrey pines glider port where you can try tandem parasailing, they actually winch launch full scale gliders for a few weeks in March - very cool to watch.

santa ynez is right by los olivos and solvang all three areas worth a look. if you enjoyed the flick "sideways" you can eat at the hitching post (los olivos) and see the bar where paul giamatti drowned his sorrows. Solvang is famous for its Danish village and Andersens pea soup restaurant. id skip the pea soup but the village is cool place to walk around, it will be cold up there this time of year and some snow is possible. i've been up to SB wine country twice for wine tasting and the wine festival, these were standouts: stoplman, sogno del fiore, sarloos and firestone. there are many more wineries but these are my faves. Ostini of the hitching post is known for his pinot noir, you can try it if you dine there. imo, the food isn't that great, they're best known for their steaks.

my record store list in my tablet at work, ill PM you the short list of stores I recommend you visit especially if time is precious, ameoba in Hollywood is a no brainer...

All good suggestions. Plus, I would add Sea World in San Diego. Not likely to see a whale or dolphins at the zoo, LOL.( Amir

).
You can also take a tour of the aircraft carrier -the Midway, IF that would be of interest. Better for the boys than the girls, But my wife and daughters did like it...so you never know. It is moored permanently off Harbor Dr.

MylesBAstor · Dec 16, 2013

Steve Williams said:
Disneyland and Lego land

Come see me on your way to San Diego

+1

In addition to the zoo, Seaworld is great for the kids.

WLVCA · Dec 16, 2013

My wife and I go to Santa Ynez and Los Olivos a couple of times each year for wine tasting. Its a great place to visit and there are lots of boutique wineries in addition to some of the larger ones like Gainey and Firestone. My favorite is Zaca Mesa. We also enjoy exploring the smaller, boutique wineries as well - sometimes you can meet the owner of the vineyard or talk directly to the wine maker at the smaller places.

We worked the Foxen Trail a couple of times and you can find a list of wineries here.

http://www.foxencanyonwinetrail.com/

I prefer Los Olivos and Santa Ynez to Solvang - Solvang is a Scandanavian tourist trap. However, my wife does like exploring the shops there as she is of Swedish descent.

My favorite restuarant in Los Olivos is the Los Olivos Cafe - good food with a nice, casual atmosphere and a wine store, too.

Don't know if they do it during the holiday season but they have an incredible seafood buffet on Thursday nights at the Four Seasons in Santa Barbara, It was about $60.00 per person but an incredible value - they serve a whole lobster plus all the clams, oysters and sushi you care to eat. There are meat dishes and great desserts as well. Best part is they allow you to bring your own local wines and don't charge a corkage fee. The Sunday brunch is incredible there, too.

When driving from Santa Barbara to Santa Ynez and Los Olivos, I recommend Highway 154 - it intersects with the 101 Freeway. Beautiful drive through the rolling hills

jazdoc · Dec 16, 2013

There is a cute little outdoor shopping strip in Coronado. Great for picking up vacation tchatzkes. Good walking food for the kids including a really terrific gelato store. The Chamber of Commerce is along the strip and they have tours of La Jolla inlcuding Frank Baum's house.

Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo are terrific for all ages and have the added quality of exhausting the kids. There is also a great outdoor shopping district in downtown LaJolla with nice shops for the wives and a couple of terrific art galleries including one of the best photography galleries in the country, Joseph Bellows.

Agree with the above re: LA which is a completely different beast.

asiufy · Dec 16, 2013

Thanks guys, great tips so far!

Just for future reference, look what I found:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2013/12/best_record_stores_los_angeles.php

Alexandre

KeithR · Dec 20, 2013

Rusack and Sanford are my two favorite wineries in the Santa Ynez valley. Rusack has some of the best pinots in california, has a great "house" to taste or eat lunch with, and is a beautiful drive just outside Los Olivos. The sandwich place in Los Olivos is one of my favorite places. Seasmoke is another great SB pinot, but don't think they have a tasting room.

I really recommend the Reagan Library for more typical site seeing--that, Huntington Gardens, and the Getty Villa/Museum.

LL21 · Dec 21, 2013

puroagave said:
what Steve said, Coronado often makes the best beach list for the entire US (but too cold to take a dip)...

...unless you're a NAVY SEAL!

flez007 · Dec 21, 2013

I never miss Balboa Park....

astrotoy · Dec 24, 2013

Maier Shadi's new store, Audio Salon, should be open. I was there at the end of October and he was just finishing up the main listening room. He is located in Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, just off Olympic, not far from Santa Monica Blvd., west of the 405. The advantage of being in Bergamot Station is that it is full of interesting art galleries for the adults who don't want to do the audio scene. They can also drop you off on the way to the Santa Monica Promenade, which is a few blocks to the west. You can call him at 310-863-0863 if you are interested in visiting. He is very knowledgeable and a good guy.

Larry

c1ferrari · Dec 24, 2013

Hi,

Excellent suggestions posted above pertaining to San Diego. I still live here and am thinking of visiting The Zoo, Xmas evening

Have fun

Ideas for South California with family

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